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Due to popular demand, Tokyo Midtown Design Hub’s third annual Prototype exhibition has been extended until Dec. 13. Prototype shows the work of Japanese creators – mostly architects, product designers and furniture designers – with a focus on the creative process and problems of turning an idea into an object. Each display has notes and sketches drawn directly onto the tables by the designers themselves, giving the viewer insight into their creative process. This makes the show fun for both die-hard design followers and those with only a passing interest. The finished products are beautiful, to be sure, but just as interesting are the scrawled diagrams, and in some cases, the tools used to make the new products on display.

Anyone who’s had their laptop or cellphone run out of juice at a crucial moment can attest to the limitations that present power storage methods have on technology, but a product from Aqua Power Systems Japan may indicate an amazing new advancement: the water-powered battery.

At their present capability, NoPoPo (No Pollution Power) Eco batteries have enough power to save lives during a disaster since they can run on the smallest amount of fluid (drinkable or bodily), which means that someone lost in the woods or trapped under rubble could recharge their flashlight easily with a few drops of whatever is available.

But don’t start peeing on your laptop just yet: For the time being, NoPoPo batteries have significant limitations — just the double-A form is available and can only run low-powered items like flashlights and toy trains (see video above) but if they find a way to expand capacity, the NoPoPo could revolutionize how – and for how long – we work and communicate on electronic devices.

Ah, the Japanese schoolgirl, that perennial trendsetter and object of adoration. Few items of clothing evoke such a spectrum of emotions as her attire (be careful when Googling it). Once considered a sartorial example of the East’s rigid conformity, Japan’s schoolgirl uniform has now reached such a globally iconic status that earlier this year the government tried harnessing its powers through “Kawaii Diplomacy.”

For better or worse, it may be working. On Tuesday, the Asahi Shimbun reported that CONOMi, the Niigata-based company making nanchatte seifuku (fake school uniforms) has seen its business booming, not only here in Tokyo but in China, South Korea, Australia and Brazil.

“Every Western documentary that purports to be about Japanese style is in fact a documentary about the Western concept of free will.”

A hyperbolic statement to be sure, but the point is valid: Western journalists almost invariably project their own ideas of conformity onto the schoolgirl’s fashion choices, but if they really wanted to know what uniforms mean in Japan today, they should ask the people who actually wear them. The simple fact is that schoolgirl and kogyaru style do not fit neatly into the conformist vs. rebel dichotomy set up by so many aspiring documentary makers. The lines between the traditional and evocative have blurred too far, and there’s a case to be made that many of the blazer-and-skirt-wearing tribe are not “rebelling” against anything, but are instead reveling in the spotlight that society has placed on them.

If this is the case, then the government-funded “cute diplomacy” program is the biggest spotlight yet.

Google has certainly been at the forefront. Their “Translate this page” links are now built into Japanese search results, and the dedicated Translate application has made huge strides in turning select phrases, web pages and PDF documents into your preferred tongue. Google Reader has opened the blogosphere even further with the option to change RSS feeds into English or other languages. Twitter, the year’s other web darling, continues to grow in popularity here, and the Tweetie iPhone application‘s translate function is helping more non-Japanese speakers to keep better track of the country’s 140-character community.

In a recent interview with Monocle Magazine, Japanamerica author and pop culture stalwart Roland Kelts was asked about Meiji University’s plans for a manga library. “When you make a Rock and Roll museum, it means that Rock and Roll is dead,” he said. “And when you build a manga museum, to some extent it means that there is an end in sight.”

Perhaps in its present form, yes. Kelts doesn’t believe that manga are going away, but domestic sales are down, with print media competing with – and frequently losing to – digital platforms on cell phones and the Internet. Don’t worry, he explains, manga are just in the process of adapting to the new landscape. Downloadable manga for your cell phone are but one example.

Now this is a fantastic idea. The Japanese firm Mobile Art Lab has turned the iPhone into an interactive children’s book with what they’re calling the PhoneBook.

This is not the first iPhone-related program aimed at your toddler – you could spend hours looking through all the child-related applications available on iTunes – but this approach, with its book-like accessory framing the touchscreen, is an idea that is bound to catch on. Mobile Art Lab has stated that these kind of applications are not limited to children’s books, but could also be utilized in other types of media such as catalogs and brochures. Graphic novels and manga could easily integrate this technology as well, but the interactive potential makes this an ideal learning tool.

Depending on your perspective, the digital camera market is either mind-bogglingly fascinating or mind-numbingly boring. Every day, legions of dedicated shutterbugs pore over spec sheets and review sites, blogging breathlessly about the latest features and innovations, while almost everyone else yawns at camera makers’ constant leapfrogging and just wants to aim and fire.

Nikon, Canon and other major Japanese players have long been locked in a struggle for supremacy in both the D-SLR and point-and-shoot realm, but as the holiday shopping season draws closer the imaging market is changing in significant ways. One of the most interesting trends is the growing middle ground between these two main categories.

Olympus and Panasonic have both released hybrid models using their Micro Four-Thirds system to bridge the gap between the versatility and image quality of D-SLRs with the convenient size of a pocket camera. Both utilize a larger sensor than their point-and-shoot brethren while also offering the option to switch lenses.

This week Ricoh entered the ring with a small unit that offers detachable lens-and-sensor units that load like game cartridges. None of these cameras can boast a D-SLR’s image quality or ability to shoot action or low-light, but they’re close enough that, for some users, the ability to shove it in your jacket outweighs the extra depth, sharpness and action-stopping abilities of their larger cousins.

Even Ginza, home to much of Japan’s luxury industry and a competitive wine-bar market, has seen a new cost-cutting measure. The wine bar GOSS, near the flagship Matsuya Department store in the heart of the shopping district, has installed wine vending machines as a way to cut down on labor costs and still provide premium vino to their patrons.